16: C16 Tang San’s Return,
One large, one small.
It was Tang San, returning from his soul ring hunting expedition, and his teacher, Yu Xiaogang.
Wang Teng’s mind stirred, and he immediately ran toward them.
Tang San and Yu Xiaogang had just returned to the academy when they heard about the commotion on the playground.
They had originally come to check the situation, but seeing the scene so out of control, they rushed over at once.
“Grandmaster!
Xiao San!
You’re just in time!
My big brother and Xiao Wu are still in there—please help!”
Wang Teng said urgently.
“What?
Xiao Wu is still inside?”
Tang San’s face filled with anxiety upon hearing this.
He looked at Yu Xiaogang.
“Teacher?”
“Act.
Use your first soul skill to restrain those still causing trouble in the center.”
“Leave the rest to me.”
Yu Xiaogang patted Tang San’s shoulder and gave the order calmly.
“Alright!”
“First Soul Skill: Blue Silver Entanglement!”
Without hesitation, Tang San activated his skill.
A bright yellow soul ring rose beneath his feet.
Wang Teng watched closely from the side, unable to hide the envy in his eyes.
He wondered how much longer he would need to cultivate before reaching level ten and obtaining his first soul ring…
Before he could finish the thought, several dark blue, thorny vines suddenly shot up from within the crowd, firmly binding the most fiercely fighting individuals—including Xiao Wu, Xiao Chenyu, and others.
At the same time, Yu Xiaogang also channeled his soul power.
A pale purple mist emanated from his body, quickly condensing into a peculiar creature—neither pig nor dog.
“So this is Luo Sanpao…
what a unique appearance.”
Wang Teng observed quietly from the side, unable to resist thinking: “No wonder the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan couldn’t keep him—the form of this martial soul is really…
I bet even Yu Yuanzhen questioned his life choices back then.”
“First Soul Skill: Fart Like Thunder, Shake Heaven and Earth Luo Sanpao!”
“Sanpao, hold back your power.
Just disperse the students—don’t hurt anyone.”
“Roro—”
Luo Sanpao grunted twice, then clumsily turned around, aiming its rear end at the center of the playground.
“BOOM—!!”
Its round body launched into the air, its yellow soul ring blazing with light.
With a thunderous boom, a yellow shockwave swept outward, covering most of the playground.
Immediately after, an indescribably pungent odor spread rapidly.
“Ugh—!”
“What’s that smell!”
“Run!”
The students, who had been locked in conflict, were instantly overwhelmed by the stench.
All thoughts of fighting vanished—they covered their noses, gagged, and scattered in all directions, desperate to rush back to their dorms and wash themselves clean.
A prolonged melee was brought to a swift end in this absurdly comical manner.
That evening, Wang Teng received formal notification from the academy.
As he had expected, the academy strictly forbade him from organizing any similar competitions in the future.
However, considering their status as work-study students and the fact that no serious injuries had occurred, the academy decided not to pursue further punishment.
Late at night, in the dormitory, Wang Teng and Wang Sheng opened the wooden box and carefully counted.
The final tally: from this final match alone, they had made a net profit of thirteen gold soul coins.
Adding the steady income from the previous twenty days, the brothers had amassed a total of twenty gold soul coins over the past half-month.
Wang Teng put the converted twenty gold coins into a cloth bag and held it in his hands.
The heavy weight and the crisp clinking of coins made the corners of his mouth curl upward involuntarily.
Even during his meditation that night, he felt his soul power circulating more smoothly and swiftly than usual.
Outside the window, the moonlight was clear, and the academy gradually settled into tranquility.
The noise, fights, laughter, and frustrations brought by the spinning top tournament slowly faded away with this long night.
The next day, Notting Academy returned to its usual calm.
The uproar from the spinning top tournament seemed to have dissipated overnight, and the campus had resumed its normal appearance.
Wang Teng’s daily routine also returned to a regular pattern: focused study in the mornings, cleaning the academy garden in the afternoons, followed by his unshakeable extreme physical training.
In the evening, he made a point of finding Xiao Wu and Tang San.
“I’m treating you both to a meal outside the academy tonight.”
Wang Teng said cheerfully.
Seeing their puzzled expressions, he explained further: “Treating Xiao Wu is only right—she helped a lot during the tournament.
And for you, Tang San, it’s to thank you for borrowing those books from Grandmaster for me.”
The reasoning sounded perfectly reasonable.
Xiao Wu’s eyes lit up at the mention of food.
Tang San looked at Wang Teng’s sincere expression and nodded in agreement.
As the sun set, Wang Teng, Wang Sheng, Xiao Wu, and Tang San left the academy together and made their way to a mid-sized two-story restaurant in Notting City.
For Wang Sheng and Wang Teng, who hadn’t seen much of the world, and for Tang San and Xiao Wu—gifted but perpetually short on funds—having a proper meal at a restaurant was a rare treat.
The four entered the restaurant in high spirits, went straight to the second floor, and secured a quiet private room.
Though they were young, their status as soul masters carried weight.
In particular, the faint soul power fluctuations emanating from Tang San and Xiao Wu, along with the Spirit Hall-issued soul master badges on their clothes, ensured that the waitstaff treated them with utmost respect—and no one dared to cause any trouble.
Wang Teng took the lead in ordering several of the restaurant’s signature dishes.
Steaming dishes arrived one after another, filling the air with rich aromas.
The group ate and chatted without ceremony, the atmosphere lively and warm.
The meal was especially satisfying.
After eating and drinking their fill, they leaned back in their chairs, sipping the tea provided by the restaurant.
Xiao Wu patted her slightly full belly contentedly, her big eyes darting around before landing on Wang Teng.
“Wang Teng, we’ve eaten, we’ve drunk tea…
you didn’t call us out just for that, did you?
Is there something else?”
“Ah.”
Wang Teng laughed.
“Can’t I just genuinely want to thank you?”
“Hmph, I know you too well.”
Xiao Wu wrinkled her nose, wearing an expression that said “I’ve got you figured out.”
“You’re not the type to act without profit.
I know exactly how much you made from the spinning top tournament!”
“And before that, you only treated me to a meal on the second floor of the school cafeteria.”
Wang Teng felt a little embarrassed at being seen through, rubbing his nose before turning serious.
“Alright, you got me.
But the gratitude is real too.”
With that, he reached out and gently placed three gleaming gold coins on the table.
Clink, clink, clink.
Three gold soul coins landed on the wooden table with crisp sounds.
Xiao Wu counted them and widened her eyes in surprise.
“Three?
Are you crazy—giving me this much?”
“This isn’t much.”
Wang Teng waved his hand, his tone sincere.
“Without your help keeping things in order at the start, we wouldn’t have been able to run the tournament or make the money afterward.”
Xiao Wu looked at the gold coins, then at Wang Teng, hesitating for a moment.
“I know how much I actually helped…
I’ll take one.
You keep the rest.”
She took one coin and pushed the other two back toward him.
“Xiao Wu, take these two as well.”
Wang Teng didn’t take them back.
Instead, with a slightly embarrassed smile, he explained, “Actually…
there is something else I wanted to ask you and Xiao San for help with.”
“See!
I knew it!”
Xiao Wu slapped the table, but her face broke into a relaxed “just as I thought” smile.
She didn’t refuse further, picking up the remaining two gold coins—keeping one for herself and handing the other to Tang San beside her.
“Here, this is for you.
Let’s hear what he wants.”
Tang San took the gold coin, weighed it in his hand, and looked calmly at Wang Teng.
“Tell us first.
If we can help, we will.”
Seeing they hadn’t outright refused, Wang Teng breathed a sigh of relief.
He sat up straight and explained earnestly, “The brawl on the playground the day before yesterday made me realize one thing clearly: my combat ability is too weak.”
“Not to mention compared to you two or Xiao Chenyu—even against my big brother,” he gestured toward Wang Sheng, “I probably wouldn’t last long in a real fight.”
“Hey, little brother, you say that, but I’m still your big brother.”
Wang Sheng interjected with a laugh, though his eyes carried agreement.
He knew Wang Teng was speaking the truth.
Xiao Wu nodded, signaling Wang Teng to continue.
“So, I’d like to ask you two—mainly because you’re both strong and experienced—to train my combat abilities.”
Wang Teng spoke with great sincerity.
“I’m not trying to learn your self-created soul skills—I know those are family secrets.”
“I just want you to be my sparring partners, to help me improve my most basic dodging, reaction, and response abilities.”
“Even if it only gives me a little more ability to protect myself in future battles, it’s better than being as helpless as I am now.”
Wang Teng’s words were very practical.
On one hand, this was a pressing need for him.
Soul power cultivation couldn’t be achieved overnight, but combat awareness and instincts could be honed through high-intensity practical training.
On the other hand, he also wanted to build stronger connections with Tang San and Xiao Wu.
After all, at this point, Tang San and Xiao Wu were merely his classmates, with no conflicts between them.
More friendship meant more future options.
“If I really can’t keep up later, the goodwill I’ve built now might…
just might earn me a stroke of fortune.”
He thought of those immortal herbs Tang San might one day obtain—though the idea was far-fetched, it never hurt to plan ahead.
Xiao Wu barely hesitated after hearing him out, nodding readily: “I’m fine with that!
Someone volunteering to be a punching bag—where else would I find that kind of opportunity?”
She cheerfully pocketed the two gold coins with practiced ease.
Tang San, however, was silent for a moment, frowning slightly as if weighing something.
His gaze fell on the gold coin in his hand—for someone as cash-strapped as Tang San, this was a substantial sum.
Working at the blacksmith shop, he earned only one silver coin a month.
After a while, Tang San looked up, his gaze calm as he met Wang Teng’s eyes.
“I can agree too.”
“But let me make this clear first—I won’t go easy on you during training.
If you get hurt, don’t blame me.”
“Of course!”
Wang Teng felt a weight lift from his heart, a smile spreading across his face.
He raised his tea cup.
“I’ll toast you with tea instead of wine!
Thank you!”
“Hehe, from today on, Wang Teng, you’ll have to call me ‘Teacher Xiao Wu’!”
Xiao Wu lifted her chin triumphantly, her eyes curving into crescents.
“Teacher Xiao Wu, Teacher Tang San, I look forward to your guidance!”
Wang Teng played along with a smile, cupping his hands in salute.
“Hahahaha!”
Xiao Wu’s bright, cheerful laughter filled the private room.
Outside the window, the lights of Notting City were beginning to glow.
One meal, three gold coins, one agreement.
Wang Teng knew that his combat training would officially begin tomorrow.
The next afternoon, in the small grove beside Notting Academy’s playground, sunlight filtered through layers of leaves, casting scattered patches of light.
Usually at this time, Wang Teng would be doing his extreme physical training alone.
But today was different.
Before starting his training, he would have a practical sparring session with Xiao Wu.
Xiao Wu stood in the clearing, beckoning to Wang Teng with a playful yet serious expression.
“You make the first move.
Let me see your strength, speed, and reactions.”
“Alright, here I come!”
Wang Teng lowered his center of gravity, bent his legs slightly, and charged at Xiao Wu with clenched fists.
Punch!
“Whoosh—”
His fist moved quite fast.
After all, Wang Teng had maintained a long-term training regimen—his physical fitness was no worse than Wang Sheng’s, though his combat awareness still needed honing.
But facing Wang Teng’s punch, Xiao Wu simply shifted her body sideways and dodged the strike with ease.
“Your punch speed is decent.”
Xiao Wu’s eyes grew a bit more serious.
“Again.
This time I won’t dodge—let me test your power.”
Wang Teng threw another punch.
This time, it wasn’t a single fist but a rapid succession of blows aimed at Xiao Wu’s chest.
“Thump!
Thump!
Thump!”
This time Xiao Wu didn’t evade—she simply crossed her arms in front of her body.
Wang Teng landed three punches in one second, all solidly striking Xiao Wu’s forearms.
“Tap, tap, tap!”
Xiao Wu was pushed back several steps, leaving a clear trail of footprints in the soft grass.
“Hiss—whoo—”
After steadying herself, she let out a soft breath and slowly exhaled.
“Xiao Wu, are you alright?”
Tang San, who had been watching from the side, hurried over, his tone concerned.
“I’m fine, I’m fine.”
Xiao Wu waved her hand and shook her slightly numb arms.
“I just didn’t expect you to have that much strength, Wang Teng.”
“Even without using martial soul possession, your strength might be greater than Wang Sheng’s—no, even Xiao Chenyu’s.”
“Of course, I’m referring to Xiao Chenyu without possession or soul skills.”
She flexed her wrists and looked at Wang Teng.
“Thanks for the compliment.”
Wang Teng nodded, then asked, “So how should we train next?”
“I have a general sense of your strength.
Next, let me test your reaction speed and agility.”